New coins to mark VE Day and reign of George III
KING George III’S reign and the 75th anniversary of VE Day are due to be commemorated on coins released this year, the Royal Mint has revealed.
The new British coin collection is also set to mark 100 years since Dame Agatha Christie published her first novel, and will celebrate Team GB in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Honouring 200 years since the end of King George III’S reign, his time on the throne will be commemorated in 2020 with a new £5 coin.
Alongside a depiction of the former monarch, it features illustrations of the Copper Horse monument – a statue of the king on horseback which sits in the grounds of Windsor Castle – and the King’s Observatory in Greenwich, which he commissioned. The issue of a £5 coin is usually reserved for special royal occasions.
A special £2 coin will be minted to commemorate the beginning of the end of the Second World War, as 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
It depicts street parties and celebrations that erupted following news of Germany’s surrender on May 8, 1945.
Also commemorated is the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower setting sail for the
New World.